Saturday, May 1, 2010

Happy May Day!

Do you celebrate May Day or did you as a kid? If so, what was, or is, customary where you live?

I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and kids loved May Day. Each May 1st, we made baskets out of construction paper or "oak tag" (who else remembers the multi-use wonders of oak tag?) or attached pipe cleaner handles to custom-decorated plastic or paper cups and filled them with penny candy and maybe a few violets to deliver to the front doors of "unsuspecting" friends and neighbors.

One of the objects of this funny little custom was to get the task accomplished without being caught. It was fairly impossible. When I was a kid, it seemed the time between Easter Sunday and Independence Day was a barren, uneventful stretch of time on the calendar with no trees to decorate or feasts to celebrate or gifts to receive save for the the simple pleasures of a few baskets of candy bestowed by friends and playmates on May Day. So, we looked forward to the day and we waited by our doors and windows and hid in the shrubs outside hoping to catch the carriers of the candies in the act! Another part of the custom, if I remember it correctly, was that the basket-bringers were to be kissed, if caught. But we didn't partake in that aspect as kids...ick.

There were lots of kids in our small neighborhood. That's mostly because I'm the eldest of eight in my family alone. But what was so wonderful about the block we lived on was that the adults could be just as childlike as we were when it came to the holidays and celebrations throughout the year. I'll never forget catching one of our favorite neighbor ladies, Mattie (Mary), hiding in the bushes across the street from our house with an armload of eight of those green strawberry basket containers filled to the tops with candy as she waited to dart across the street to drop them on our front porch and run back home. What a great memory and what an impression her actions must have made that, 40 years or more later, I remember it like it was yesterday! Even though I don't celebrate May Day anymore, those kinds of childhood memories have become a part of what I think about every May 1st.

If you have memories of May Day or still celebrate it today, we'd love to hear about it. Judging from all of the fun submissions we got on the Halloween question last week, I'll bet you have some interesting thoughts to offer. So, let's have another contest; Answer the questions at the beginning of this blog post, as a comment here or on my personal Facebook fan page or the Party with Patrick fan page. We'll take submissions through Wednesday, May 5th and anyone who submits will be entered into a drawing for a Scribbles fat quarter pack of 11 pieces from the collection. Post as many times as you'd like but each name will only be entered into the drawing once.

And if you'd like to make a cute little construction paper or oak tag basket, there's a pattern offered here: http://www.patricklose.net/pwp/maybasket.html

Fill it with candy or little flowers and sneak off to make someone's day! Have fun :)

52 comments:

To be honest I have never heard of may day until this week!! My son goes to nursery school and their project for the week was to make and decorate bags to fill with caandy and treats he had a blast filling/decorating their may day bags.....I LOVE this new tradition and plan to celebrate it from now on HAPPY MAY DAY!!!!! ~jill p.

I've loved May Day since I was a little kid. All those traditional pole dances, decorating baskets with construction paper & tissue papers. In Hawaii they celebrate Lei Day. Needless to say, when we got married we married on May Day/Lei Day. It has really made this a special day for us (and easy to remember our anniversary).

I remember back in the day...during school...we made May Day baskets in school. I made a special one for my 'crush'....I think this was somewhere around 2nd grade. Anyway...it was really cute, however, he didn't think so. My little heart was broken....But I still had fun anyway! :o)

Do you celebrate May Day: Yes...we did a maypole dance at school.Today we planted herbs.who else remembers the multi-use wonders of oak tag? : I do not know what oak tag is...off I go to check on the tutorial.

My favorite memories of May Day was when I was in grade school and us girls used to collect money for candy and hang a Maybasket on our teacher. Was so much fun to get out of class, and share the candy after we were all caught. Those were the days!!!

I do remember May Day...We would put cut flowers in little baskets we wove together and put them on the door knob of our neighbors. We didn't add candy to the baskets though. To this day I still love May Day. You're right, it is just too long between Easter and Memorial Day! We should always remember to celebrate May Day! Alice

I loved May Day as a kid, just like you. It was one of those inbetween holidays. We made our baskets from cupcake papers and pipe cleaners. I went to a 1 room country school, so we never got to ring the doorbell, but there were always treats for May Day. I am having a giveaway on my blog for May Day too.I would love to win the FQs.

May Day always meant hanging a Maybasket on the teacher, waiting for all the kids to be caught, then going back into class and enjoying all the wonderful candy we filled the basket with. What a memorable time; and oh, so long ago!!

I did a May Basket or two when I was young and meant to do some with my kids this year but the weekend was dull and rain/snow/sleet/haily here and.....good intentions. Maybe next year? Thanks for the giveaway chance.

I've heard of May day as an old English tradition but it wasn't celebrated in my hometown of Montreal and I've never heard of it being celebrated anywhere else in Canada. Interesting to see all the excitement and pizazz over it from quilting bloggers.

I grew up in NY and now live in Calif and at no time did I ever celebrate May Day. However, I have a friend at work who's daughter (my age) always says "First of May, first of May, outdoor sex begins today!". Does that count?

i have a cat helping me type this am! I had sort of forgotten about May Day... we also had May poles with streamers that were an attraction to kids. The small baskets were a gift to get and to pass on yes and delight the eyes of the one homebound or whatever. Long winters could be hard so such was good to. Thanks for the reminder!

I don't remember my family celebrating May Day specifically, maybe I'm too old to remember. I, personally, like to celebrate the oncoming season of growth by going to my favorite local shop to buy some seedlings and just sit and enjoy nature and the warmth of the sun. That's a neat memory you have, I hope to give a memory like that to my son. Have a good one! Happy Spring and Happy May!

Hey Patrick! We always celebrate May Day when we were growing up in North Central Iowa. I can remember making popcorn balls with Mom and we made these little slings out of napkins, folding & cutting so they opened up kind of like the mesh bags that some veggies come in...wish I could find that pattern again! Other times we would decorate paper cups adding a pipe cleaner for a handle and fill with pop corn, candy corn and whatever else Mom brought home. I remember hanging the baskets on the door knobs and ringing the bell. If you got "caught" the boys would chase you down and kiss you! :-D Not real welcome at age 8 to 10!! LOL!!! Jami in Iowa

I remember celebrating May Day when I was in grade school. I used to make little baskets and fill them with flowers and deliver them to my elderly neighbors (whose flowers I used to fill them-my Mom was not a flower person) but they never seemed to mind.

In the 50s in southern California we had blooming pansies to arrange in tiny baskets and sneak onto neighbors' doors. We danced the May pole at elementary school. (My Mom was crowned May Queen in the 30s and I've always been jealous.0 In the 70's there was International Day of Women and also a big deal celebrating Stalin. This year Los Angeles was almost closed down because thousands and thousands of people want open borders. Me, I went to quilt guild in Temecula, passing by March Air Force Base, where they were stopping traffic celebrating war planes.The times, they are a changing....

Yes, I celebrated May Day as a child and still do! My blog post from yesterday will show the May Day Basket I made for my 90 year old mother and how I filled it with tulips and candy! What a wonderful sentiment - we did exactly as you, but Des Moines is not that far away, so I'm not surprised! Happy May Day a day late.

Never knew of May Day until I was an adult. May 1st in our neck of the woods usually still has snow in the picture! So May Day was not celebrated here...I guess too, this being primarily a French area might have something to do with it too? My celebrations for MayDay each year is when do I get to hang out the laundry????? When is it warm enough? I have been doing that a few times albeit off and on as the weather cooperates.

WE CELEBRATED MAY DAY AS KIDS WE WENT TO OUR GRANDMA'S POPPED POPCORN AND PUT THAT AND PENNY CANDY IN LITTLE SACS WE DECORATED AND RUN IT TO PEOPLE'S HOUSE AND KNOCKED PUT THE SAC DOWN AND RUN. I THINK GRANDMA TOLD THEM WE WERE COMMING.

We never celebrated May Day, so I don't have any memories of it. In fact, I never heard of it until I was an adult. I've always thought it was like a Labor Day. A google search shows that it is that in many countries.

That said, those fabrics look so yummy and I can't wait to see them! Thanks for counting me in.

Sorry to say up here in the Great White North we did not celebrate May Day. Like Debbie in the comment above mine, I didn't hear about it until adulthood. Too bad, sounds like fun and a lovely start to spring, we do have that here in Canada. Thanks for putting my name in for that yummy pile of fabric - that I would celebrate with pleasure.http://sideroadstitcher.blogspot.com/

I never celebrated May Day when I was growing up but I have since lived in several countries in Europe where I marched in rallies on May Day (or Labour Day) with friends for better working conditions and other rights. Not quite the same holiday as for you!

I remember May Day as a child. We were so excited to make the baskets after school and then try to deliver them without any one seeing us. My children did some of the May Day traditions when they were young (in the 80's) by taking baskets to school and trading with friends.

Hi! I'm lilla from Italy...For us, The first of May is a social holiday, beacause it is dedicate to all the workers.This day nobody goes to work, also schools are closed. So, last first of May, my son Alex went to the beach with his friend, me, with my husband and the other son Luca, went for a walk round Martinsicuro, my little city...I'm pleased to have meet you. Bye. lilla

Sadly we never celebrated May Day but I love the idea. My grand children have no idea of what that celebration is, so I guess it is a tradition that has gone to the wayside. mIght be time to revise it. When I was a child I knew all the neighbors and we were safe roaming the streets, now days I haven't a clue who lives in our neighborhood.

I grew up in a small town in North Dakota and we celebrated May Day with gifts of baskets of candy like you did, although I think we just delivered them and didn't worry about being caught. Generally we were just exchanging the baskets with our friends and neighbors. We may have even done the exchanges at school, which is easy to do when class sizes are small :-). I don't remember what exactly we made our baskets out of, but I know we decorated them with ribbon, etc.

I remember almost always May Day becouse is my birthday... Sometimes I went to sea, when I was a child my parents made me a little party with friends, now I relax at the morning and then a I go out with my boyfriend and my friends XDThanks for giveaway!

When I was quilte young my mother passed away and I have few memories of her. One memory that I do have is celebrating May day. We used to take colorful paper cups and add a pipecleaner for a handle. We filled the cups with popcorn, candy corn and other small candies then distributed them to our neighbors. During her short time with us she worked hard to make every holiday special. She inspired me to do the same for our children when they were little.

Although my mother was not a quilter she did sew quite a bit of clothing and I inherited her Bernina and used it constantly until a few years ago. After her death I spent many hours sewing with my grandmother who taught me to be the quilter I am today. My experience with my mother taught me that times spent with those you love are more precious than any "toy" money can buy.

reading through the comments, I am glad that someone mentioned the MayPole. Thats what I remember. I don't recall baskets of flowers or candy but I do remember each year we would strand long peices of ribbon, crepe paper or whatever to the pole and would dance around it. I think there was suppose to be a pattern to that dancing, but I don't remember what that was. Years have gone by and Once in a while I will come across a cardboard tube that long rolls of home deco fabric would come on and I would think, that would make a perfect maypole. thanks for the chance to win such a lovely prize.

I've never participated in May Day activities though I have always loved the idea. It may be that here in rural Montana its usually still freezing on May 1st and flowers don't stand a chance. Maybe, someday :)

I remember leaving a May basket on a neighbor's door once when I was a kid. I had learned about the tradition in school, but nobody else seemed much interested in May Day. I think it's a fun tradition, but it's not really celebrated around here (Seattle area).